


different girls from different times.

by geekinthehoodie



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, becca and steve are just mentioned, bucky and shuri being bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-07 07:07:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18405635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekinthehoodie/pseuds/geekinthehoodie
Summary: Shuri keeps waking Bucky up from cryo which“defeats the whole purpose of going back under, kid.”orBucky wonders how he always gets stuck with little punks with zero self-preservation skills.





	1. Punks With Zero Self-Preservation Skills

**Author's Note:**

> In-between moments of the end of Civil War, and after the events of Black Panther. I imagine them having a really fun friendship. I just love the idea of Bucky being done with all these skinny punks annoying the shit out of him.

The first time Bucky wakes up, he was expecting to see Steve or even T’Challa. Hell, even that Stark kid here to finish what he started.

What he wasn’t expecting was a teenaged girl with a shit-eating grin and some sort of camera in his face. His instincts kicked in and she was pinned to the floor in seconds. With the adrenaline and blood pumping in his ears, he needed time to adjust to the sound of her voice calmly speaking to him.

_“... take me home! To the place, I belong! West Virginia, country mama! Take me home! Country roads!”_

It embarrassingly takes him a minute to process that she was speaking English and not Russian or German. It takes him another minute to realise that she was singing and not talking about experimentation or torture.

Her off-beat crooning shocks him into loosening his hold. His confusion causes him to forget that his heart was beating out of his chest and that he did not know where he was. He tilts his head in confusion, and says, a little hysterical, “What?”

“Hello, Sergeant Barnes!” she said jovially, like a one-armed ex- assassin didn’t just slam her to the ground, “I do apologise for the surprise, but I wanted to say hello.”

He blinks down at the girl, and he repeats, more succinct, “What?”

“I read somewhere that if a person is confused and having an attack you should refrain from saying condescending words such as ‘calm down’ and ‘relax.’ So, I thought, hey, why don’t I sing. Good, yes?”

He was about to deliver his third, and possibly most confused, _'what?'_ when he was interrupted by a door hissing open. He misses the solid mass of weight of a man that tackles him because he can’t get the image of the teenager’s shit-eating grin out of his mind.

He loses consciousness again.

B&S

When he wakes up, this time he is strapped to a bed. There’s a door on his right and, outside, what looks like, two guards standing at attention.  _Good._

“Sergeant Barnes!” a voice at his feet said, “How was your nap?”

“Peachy,” he said, absently, trying to gauge the situation, he was still in Wakanda, he was still missing an arm, and his head was killing him. So, yes. Peachy. “Who are you?”

“Oh!” she said, still excitable, “Forgive me. My name is Shuri. I wanted to introduce myself because I am going to be taking over the division that oversees your recovery.”

Bucky looks at her up and down. She had on a pair of very flashy trainers, a metallic skirt, and a hoodie that looked like someone had cut it with a knife. “How old are you?”

She seems to shut down, she gives him a tight smile, “I’m old enough.”

To Bucky it sounded like an old argument. He decided not to ask.

She clapped her hands and said, “Alright, as the new head, I have decided to alter the recovery program, sound good?”

“I’m going to be taken out of cryo?” he said, he doesn’t think that was the best course of action.

She must have picked up on his hesitancy because she said, “Oh no. I am planning to wake you a few times to collect data and to see your status. Also, you know, chat.”

Bucky looks at her in disbelief, “Chat.”

“Yes, chat. So, since we are going to be seeing a lot of each other we are going to need a good working relationship, yes?”

She fiddles with something on her wrist and the straps holding him down disappeared. He began to protest, “Hey- no! Put it back--”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” she said, rolling her eyes, “That was for your own safety. You were trashing about too much. Are you still trashing about?”

She’s treating him like _he_ was the child but that doesn’t stop him from pouting and answering with a petulant, “No.”

“Good,” she squinted at him, assessing him, “Like I was saying, you will still be put under, but I will be waking you to collect data. I realised that they did not have enough information for me to use. So, I decided to get the data from the source. That’s why I woke you up!”

“That was a stupid move, by the way.” he said, “I could have killed you.”

She pursed her lips, effectively wiping the smile off her face but her eyes still sparkled with the same mischief and joy, “But you didn’t.”

They stare at each other like that for a minute until Bucky has to look away. She looked at him with all the belief that he knew only a child could muster. It reminded him too much of—another child. Another little girl. Another time.

He grunts, still not looking at the teenager, “If you’re going to be around me, you’re going to have to be more careful.”

“It was entirely my fault. I pulled you out too fast. My baba used to tell me that wolves always attack when provoked. I apologise for provoking you.”

He doesn’t reply. He just looks at her oddly. 

“Listen, Sergeant Barnes, I saw it in your eyes. You have kind eyes. You have no intention of hurting me. You were just... confused.”

Then she looks at him again with the same trusting eyes. This time, he lets himself look back. Bucky realises that she was radiating a kind of positivity that he hasn't felt in years. Innocence, carefree, fun. He didn't know he wanted to feel that again until this moment. He decides to be a little selfish and he gives her a chance, “Other than chatting and data collection, what else do we do when I wake up?”

“Vitamins!”

With that, she jabs a needle in his only arm and injects a purple liquid into him.

“JESUS H. CHRIST,” he said, desperately trying to reach his bicep, he glares at her as she laughs and laughs, “Warn a guy, will you? Fucking hell.”

She wipes at the corner of her eyes, as she pulls up his file, “I think you and I are going to have a lot of fun.”

Bucky glowers and begins to wonder how he always gets stuck with little punks with zero self-preservation skills.


	2. Angry Black Kitten

His first day out of cryo was, true to Shuri’s word, spent chatting.

Bucky figured pretty soon that she was mostly chatting _at_ him rather than the promised _with_. She started off babbling about her plans about his road to recovery but that quickly evolved into her own rambling. She began to talk about the pop culture that he had missed, and began to rant about the 21st century. She also explained what a meme is, and Bucky pretended not to understand just to see how far she’d go to fight for the nuances of the internet. He never stopped her or pointed out that she’s gone off tangent.

He decided that she’s a nice reprieve from decades of scientists and friends who don’t trust him anymore.

B&S

“Stop _picking_ at it, White boy! You’re going to get an infection!”

“It’s _itchy.”_

B&S

The second time she wakes him up, she still doesn’t give him time to adjust. Her shit-eating grin is, yet again, in his face. Thankfully, he doesn’t attack her this time.

This was mostly because whatever reprimand he had was cut off by his stomach turning. Shuri doesn’t give him time to let the nausea pass. She just jumps into her rant about six second videos being a lost cinematic artform.

Bucky, for the first time, cuts her off. Her face closes off but it turns into confusion when he runs for the toilet.

He tells her again that she shouldn’t be alone with him. She sheepishly holds up his hair for him, and he has time to roll his eyes before another wave of nausea passes him.

Later, when his forehead is pressed on the porcelain, he asks how a story can be told in six seconds.

She beams.

B&S

Shuri calls him Bucky, sounding like she was trying it out for herself. Testing her boundaries like he knows teenagers are known to do.

As soon as she says it, he knows they felt the cold pass through both of them.

She doesn’t apologise and he doesn’t get mad, but he feels something in him shutter.

He throws her a small smile and says, “I’m not him… Not yet.”

B&S

Shuri puts Bucky Barnes back to sleep…

… and the Winter Soldier wakes up.

The asset sits up and scopes his surroundings. He is alone in a stark white room. He knows he due for a wipe.

The door opens and a woman he does not recognise walks in.

This must be his new handler.

The woman is dressed in a bright yellow dress, and equally bright pink shoes. The asset wills himself not to stare.

She bares her teeth. The asset has to tell himself that she is smiling, he’s surprised to note that it reaches her eyes, “How are we doing today?”

The woman does not sound or act like any of his old handlers. The asset almost forgets to reply, “Satisfactory.”

“That’s good,” his new handler gives him a look. She steps back, assessing him. He has done something wrong. His wipe is imminent.

Instead, she asks, her voice softer, “You sure you are ok?”

“Affirmative,” he replies faster, not liking the way she stares

“Alright,” she said, carefully but decides to move on, “I found that video we were talking about.”

The asset is confused. He searches his memory banks for this conversation, but he comes up blank. He does not tell his handler that he cannot remember. He does not want them to increase the voltage again.

He refocuses on the woman’s voice, she was still speaking, “It’s really funny. It reminds me of you. I also tried to…”

The asset wonders why he hasn’t been taken to get reprogrammed. By this time, he would have been hauled to another room and strapped to the chair. He wonders if they are testing him.

“Sergeant Barnes?” something in him freezes over, he finally looks at the woman—no _the girl—_ in the eye and that seems to answer all of her questions, “You are not Sergeant Barnes.”

Carefully, still thinking that he was being tested, he asked, “Who is Sergeant Barnes?”

The young girl was obviously trying to even out her breathing. He watches as she takes a step back. Her hand was hovering over her bracelet but never touching, “Are you the Winter Soldier?”

The asset recalls some of his targets referring to him as such before he delivers the final blow. He doesn’t respond but she seems to know the answer, “It’s very nice to meet you. My name is Shuri.”

He freezes. It takes him a moment to realise that she was being kind. No one has ever shown him kindness before. Conclusion: she is not his handler.

Was the asset stolen while he was under? Were they able to kidnap him?

He tracks her carefully as he moves to stand in front of him, her hand never leaving her bracelet. He knows that there is a failsafe of some sort in it but he knows he can take her down before she even thinks of pressing a button.

He calculates possible exits and the multiple ways he can kill her when, in a small voice, she asks, “What would you like for me to call you?”

His contingency planning halts, something in his stomach drops, “I’ve never had a name.”

The girl swallows, too young to be alone with him, how many times has he told her to go get supervision when she’s— The asset shakes away the thoughts and watches her as she sits down.

“Would you like to sleep, _wolf?_ ” she uses a word that the asset does not understand. The languages he was taught were mostly eastern European in nature. He doesn’t dwell on the word much because she just asked him if he wanted to do something.

He makes a pained sound, not knowing how to make decisions for himself but he does sink into his chamber. He lies in silence not sure how to sleep without assistance.

The young girl begins to hum. He thinks it’s a folk song he’s heard once before, probably from the same girl. If the asset focuses hard enough, she can hear a different folk song. From a different little girl, from a different time.

He hums along and he drifts off to sleep.

B&S

Shuri stands a few feet away, there are still no guards in the room with them, but he does spot two by the exit.

Bucky remembers what happened. He remembers a small part of himself in his own head begging the soldier not to hurt Bec—Shuri. He doesn’t move from his chamber, he feels raw.

Gingerly, Shuri approaches, “Sergeant Barnes?”

He wants to shout at her. Tell her to leave him alone. Tell her that he’s dangerous. But her small voice stops him. He decides to be selfish, one more time, “If you keep waking me up, it defeats the whole purpose of going back under, kid.”

That seems to be a sign that Shuri was waiting for. She beams up at him and flashes a moving picture in his face. A small black kitten hisses angrily at the camera, “See! I told you it looks like you.”

B&S

“Are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabs?”

“Of course, I fucking feel it, that needle is huge… and who the fuck is Mr. Krabs?”

“Don’t be such a Weenie Hut Jr.”

B&S

He wakes up to stark white walls and memories of blood and pain. He's sure he's under water. He hears his own heavy breathing in his ears.

Shuri is there but her voice is garbled. He tries to swim up to her, but he’s got water in his lungs and there’s something wrapped around his legs.

He thinks Shuri is crying. He can’t tell. She sounds like two different people. A different girl, from a different time both begging him to come back.

He wants both of them to stop.

He feels himself falling from a great height. Wasn’t he just swimming?

He feels the cold cut his cheeks.

He’s looking up at a train. A man in red and blue calling after him.

Then he’s look down from an aircraft. He’s calling for the blond man as he falls.

The man sinks, he jumps, tries to sink with him.

His voice loud and clear under water. He shouts for people he barely remembers. He shouts for friends he forgot he lost.

 

He calls for Steve.

 

He calls up to Shuri telling her he’ll be right back.

 

He calls for Becca telling her he’s sorry he never did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading omfg. i'll try to gather up the courage to reply to your nice comments omfg


End file.
